Shengang Fu'an Temple ( zh, t=伸港福安宮, p=Shēngǎng Fú'ān Gōng) is a temple located in

Shengang Township Shengang can refer to the following places: China * (申港街道), Jiangyin, Wuxi, Jiangsu * (申港街道), Pudong, Shanghai Taiwan *Shengang, Changhua Shengang Township () is a rural township in Changhua County, Taiwan. Geography Shengang ...

Changhua County Changhua County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest ...

, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to the sea goddess

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...

, who is the deified form of Lin Moniang. In 2015, a large portion of the temple was destroyed in a fire. The temple is currently being reconstructed.

History

Fu'an Temple's history traces back to its establishment in 1677 by

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

settlers from mainland China. According to legend, after a fisherman picked up a piece of driftwood, Mazu appeared and instructed him to construct a temple, using the driftwood as material for the statue. During Japan's rule over Taiwan, the temple was completely rebuilt between 1917 and 1918. The temple was then expanded in 1971 and 1993, and a

paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

in front of the temple was added in 1980. On 16 May 2015 at around 11:00 PM, a fire broke out within Fu'an Temple and engulfed most of the temple. Two days later, temple officials found the remains of two wooden Mazu statues inside the temple: the Zhendian Mazu statue (鎮殿媽祖) was charred beyond recognition, and the Kaiji Mazu statue (開基媽祖) was completely burned into ash. The only surviving Mazu statue was not inside the temple because it was to be used in a festival the following week; after the fire, it was immediately brought back and placed in the remains of the temple. A

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

ceremony for the temple's reconstruction was held on 4 April 2018, three years after the fire due to land use issues.

Traditions

As the primary Mazu temple in the area, the temple hosts an event known as "gifting the

censer A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

" (送大爐). Each year, Fu'an Temple passes an incense censer to one of the eighteen villages in Shengang and

Hemei Hemei Township is an urban township in northwestern Changhua County, Taiwan. It is bordered by the Dadu River to the north, Shengang and Xianxi to the west, Lukang and Xiushui to the south, and Changhua City to the east. History An early nam ...

. The censer is placed in the village's main temple, and that temple hosts a celebration for all the villages. The village is chosen through

poe divination Poe divination (from the 'poe' (桮) in the Hokkien , Min Dong BUC: buăk-bŭi, "cast moon blocks", also called as "bwa bwei", Mandarin ) is a traditional Chinese divination method, in which the divination seeker throws or drops two little wood ...

. On 12 May 2020, this event was recognized by the

Changhua County Government The Changhua County Government (CHCG; ) is the local government of Changhua County, Taiwan. Organization * Magistrate * Deputy Magistrate * Secretary-general First Class Department * Department of Civil Affairs * Department of Finance * Depar ...

as a protected cultural tradition.

References

{{reflist 1677 establishments in Taiwan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1677 Mazu temples in Changhua County